O Steer Her Up an’ Haud Her Gaun
O steer her up, an’ haud her gaun,Her mither’s at the mill, jo;An’ gin she winna tak a man,E’en let her tak her will, jo.First shore her wi’ a gentle kiss,And ca’ anither gill, jo;An’ gin she tak the thing amiss,E’en let her flyte her fill, jo.
O steer her up, an’ be na blate,An’ gin she tak it ill, jo,Then leave the lassie till her fate,And time nae langer spill, jo:Ne’er break your heart for ae rebute,But think upon it still, jo:That gin the lassie winna do’t,Ye’ll find anither will, jo.
Words in this poem
- flyte n.
- Strife; dispute; abusive or upbraiding talk, as in fliting; wrangling. [Obs. or Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
- lassie n.
- A young girl; a lass.
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
O Steer Her Up an’ Haud Her Gaun is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, O Steer Her Up an’ Haud Her Gaun, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/o-steer-her-up-an-haud-her-gaun.html, id L03411.
Form and metre
O Steer Her Up an’ Haud Her Gaun is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-ABABA gaun · joA · man · joA · kissB · joA · amissB · joA
- 2 ABAB-B-B blateA · joB · fateA · joB · rebute · joB · do't · joB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O steer her up, an’ haud her gaun, | 8 | ········ |
| Her mither’s at the mill, jo; | 7 | ······· |
| An’ gin she winna tak a man, | 8 | ········ |
| E’en let her tak her will, jo. | 7 | ······· |
| First shore her wi’ a gentle kiss, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And ca’ anither gill, jo; | 7 | ······· |
| An’ gin she tak the thing amiss, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| E’en let her flyte her fill, jo. | 7 | ······· |
| O steer her up, an’ be na blate, | 8 | ········ |
| An’ gin she tak it ill, jo, | 7 | ······· |
| Then leave the lassie till her fate, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And time nae langer spill, jo: | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Ne’er break your heart for ae rebute, | 8 | ········ |
| But think upon it still, jo: | 7 | ······· |
| That gin the lassie winna do’t, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ye’ll find anither will, jo. | 7 | ······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.